Crawley Claims Ignorance of Stokes' Provocative 'Frail Characters' Remarks
The English opening batter Zak Crawley suggested he was not familiar with statements from skipper Stokes regarding the team environment as no place for "weak men".
Stokes delivered those words in several conversations in the wake of his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes against the Australians previously.
In the lead-up to the Adelaide Test, where the visitors are staring at a series loss at the earliest opportunity, Stokes noted he had allowed his message to "circulate freely" among the playing group.
"I've done the necessary discussions over the past two days that I needed to have done," said Stokes.
But, after the opener made 85 on the penultimate day in Adelaide, he commented: "I didn't see that."
"I wasn't actively searching for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the press with a pinch of salt," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Consistent Messaging
Stokes made the "weak men" observation subsequent to England were beaten in the second Test to go 2-0 down.
The team afterwards took a break to a Queensland resort in the gap between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to the Adelaide contest, Stokes said his team had held "honest" conversations and he had asked them to "display some fight" in their battle to stay in contention in the Ashes battle.
Yet, Crawley stated the guidance from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had stayed in line with their prior tenure in leadership.
"The atmosphere has been very positive, the same as always," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, playing our brand, with lots of freedom. It felt like we were capable of an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Historic Ashes Triumph
The opener's wicket on day four was part of a crucial triple-strike by Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Harry Brook and Stokes himself – meant England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia need four wickets on Sunday's last day to move to an unassailable three-nil lead with three Tests.
Defeat would prolong the English team's drought in Australia to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes loss.
This series will be completed in only eleven days of play – with England losing the initial matches in two and four days each.
Not since 1921, when the Australians completed victory in the UK in eight days, has the destination of the Ashes urn been determined more swiftly. The hosts have also triumphed in 11 days on two other instances in the 21st century.
"This is disappointing," said the batsman. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are facing elimination now."
"There will still be significant pride at stake and we will certainly approach it with that mindset," Crawley added.
"The challenge has been tough. They're a very, very good team. It was always going to be hard coming here to face them. They entered as the favourites and they've proven why."
Pope's Place Under Scrutiny
While the opener's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his short-term future in the England team, Ollie Pope appears under threat for his position in the fourth Test on Boxing Day.
The Surrey batsman fell for 17 in England's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record against Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and averages just 17.62.
A solitary other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured as many times in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a poorer average.
However, Crawley insisted any notion his teammate is under the microscope comes from "you guys" – meaning the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware how good of a player he is," added Crawley. "Ollie has enjoyed a productive year to be frank."
"He has produced several excellent innings. This is noise externally. There's no discussion of that nature on Ollie in the camp," he concluded.